CHAPTER 15

Boyce

I watched Vivian in the light of the candles as she ate. She was natural tonight after her shower, not needing any makeup. She looked beautiful and I smiled at her as she glanced up at me. Fuck me, but I was falling for this woman. “What are you thinking about?” Vivian asked me before taking a bite of the steak.

“You’re beautiful,” I told her as her eyes widened.

“Boyce…don’t say that,” Vivian murmured as she blushed in the orange light of the flames scattered over the table.

“It’s true. Everything about you is beautiful and I have seen all of you,” I assured her as she shook her head.

“I’m just me. Nothing special.”

“There is nobody in your life that has told you that you’re nothing special. Not your parents, not Bella, and not me. You’ve always stood out, Vivian. I just never thought it would be like this.” I admitted as she nodded and locked gazes with me. Chewing again.

“I didn’t, either.” I took a bite of steak and chewed it slowly, finding it perfectly cooked. We ate in a comfortable silence for a few moments, taking in the sounds of the night as we finished dinner. I knew that the water was a walk away, but it was too dark now for that. We could walk over tomorrow.

Vivian helped me clean up and we took the dishes inside, setting them in the sink as she suggested washing them quickly before we settled in for the night. I agreed, and we worked together quickly. Once that was done, I grabbed a fresh beer and invited her to the theater room with me. I didn’t go in there too much, having built it for Bella. Tonight, I took Vivian inside and settled her on a love seat before grabbing a box of candy for her. I knew all her favorites.

I started one of the newer movies with the remote once we were settled and wrapped my arm around Vivian as she snuggled into me. I considered what it would be like to go see a movie on a date with her, holding her hand with pride as we walked in together. I pictured sitting in the back in a dark corner and sliding my hand up her skirt as she protested, kissing her to silence her so I could finish what I started. I wanted that so much and I blinked as I felt her staring at me. “Where are you?” Vivian asked as she popped a candy into her mouth, chewing slowly as she waited for my answer.

“I was on a date with you watching a movie. We were holding hands going in and messing around in the back row,” I teased her as she frowned for a moment.

“That will never happen for us, will it?” Vivian murmured as I stared at her in the dark room. “We can be seen out in public but not together like that. Too many people know you.”

"Maybe someday. We’ll see what happens,” I promised her as she pressed her lips to my neck. I held her in my arms, taking in the scent of her peppermint soap and vanilla shampoo as I slid my hand into her damp hair, loosening it. Vivian protested slightly, but I tugged her head back and kissed her to silence her as she moaned against my lips.

Vivian kissed me for a long moment before pulling away and smiling. I gazed at her and stole one more soft peck before I focused on the screen again, still running my hands through her hair. We watched one movie and I looked at her to see that she was sound asleep against the cushion of the chair. I took that moment to take in her soft skin and peaceful expression, still stroking a curl back from her face.

I shut down the screen and left enough light on to make it back upstairs. I took Vivian into my arms and carried her up to my room, placing her gently on my bed and watching her curl up as she reached out blindly across the bed. I went and slipped on some boxers to go to sleep in, slipping under the covers as I pulled Vivian into my arms.

I woke up before Vivian in the morning and looked at her before gazing at the walls. It was still early and looked like the sun had just risen based on the light coming through the windows and I smiled in her direction. I moved over her and down her body to slip her pants down, tossing them somewhere before I spread her thighs apart. It was darker under the covers, but I could smell her honey as I pressed a kiss to her pussy. I slipped my tongue out to stroke her folds, slipping my hands around her legs gently to hold her into place. When I felt her shifting, I slipped my tongue deeper inside of her, teasing around her clit as she whimpered. “Boyce,” she said in a hoarse voice as I sucked her directly into my mouth. I worked her body, bringing her close to the edge of an orgasm before I slipped two fingers inside of her to feel her break apart for me. Vivian rocked against me slowly, moaning as she gripped my head. “You make waking up so much better for me. Come to college with me so I can feel inspired to get up there.”

I looked at her as I pulled away, longing to tell her that I considered it some nights when I was here alone. Vivian looked down at me as I climbed up her body and kissed her hungrily, dropping between her legs and resting on my arms. “I want to wake up with you every morning.” I spoke in between kisses as she pulled me closer, arching her hips up as our tongues danced together. Vivian slipped her hands through the waistband of my briefs and slipped them down as I wiggled my hips to help get them off.

I was hard as a rock as I moved back between her legs, pressing against her opening. “I want you, Vivian.”

“Take me,” she urged he, reaching down to cup my ass and pull me closer. I slid inside of her, feeling her heat wrap around me as I cried out. Vivian rose her hips to take me deeper and I fucked her hard as I clutched the sheets beneath me. Vivian started to come first, and I drove myself into her tight pussy, feeling the pressure starting to build. I came with a roar as I sank deep inside, stilling as I filled her with my seed.

We breathed in and I dropped to her side as I held her close. “Every time with you gets better. I didn’t think I’d feel that again,” I murmured to her as she sucked in her breath.

“I thought it was only like that for me,” Vivian told me softly as she looked at me. “Boyce, what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted as I pressed my lips to hers. “I don’t know.”

We stayed in bed for a few more hours before getting up. I fixed coffee and we had a light breakfast as we made plans to go to dinner later. It would be a casual meal with no interaction since I usually ran into someone that I knew. I would introduce Vivian to strangers as my daughter’s best friend. I would tell them that she was visiting from college. We’d lie about almost everything that was between us and I’d hate it.

Vivian spent some time on her laptop in the afternoon, doing things for school. That’s what I figured, anyway. I wondered sometimes if she was sleeping with other men since that first time until I told myself that it didn’t matter. I wasn’t offering her a real relationship and she deserved to be happy with a guy that could. I was just too selfish to give her up to seek that. Bella called that day and seemed surprised that Vivian was back at the house for the weekend. “She lives nearby, Bell. It makes sense for her to come back to the house that she spent half of her life in. It’s all she has.” Her family home was sold after the accident when she moved in with us.

“I should have guessed that she wouldn’t live it up on her own,” Bella told me as I frowned. My daughter could get judgmental when she didn’t stop to think about it and I held back my response. I couldn’t let it show that I cared for Vivian more than I should.

“She’s close by. It’s fine,” I said as Bella went on to talk about a new show that she had a part in. I knew that there was an audition and kept it in mind for the holidays, but it was set in stone now. She had a big part and I told her that maybe we’d take a trip to the city to see her perform and Bella assured me that she could get tickets. I hung up when she realized that she was meeting a friend for dinner and set the phone down beside me on the couch.

“Was that Bella?” Vivian asked from the kitchen and I glanced to my right to see the curious look in her eyes.

“It was. She got a major part in the production, so she won’t be here until Christmas Eve.” I watched her face carefully, seeing some relief in her blue eyes for a moment. “Maybe we can get some of the family together and make a trip to the city.”

“That would be fun. I thought I would’ve visited her by now, but time gets away from me,” Vivian said as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and moved to sit beside me.

“Life happens. Unfortunately, once you’re out of high school, it moves even faster. Kids leave home and sometimes their state, settling down away from friends and family. I did that.” I explained as she frowned. “I don’t want you to do that, Vivian. I’m selfish as fuck for saying that, but I don’t want you to.”

“I went to college an hour away, Boyce. I clearly didn’t want to go far away and that was before this started between us. I guess I like to be comfortable. Bell is more the one to shake things up. She always was,” Vivian replied, leaning her head on my shoulder.